Universal confined seat barrier

ABSTRACT

The invention is a universal flexible barrier that is first put on the child, and then, when the child is in a confined seat—such as a shopping cart seat, a car seat, a booster seat, a high chair, or even a stroller—the barrier is mushroomed outward from the child to cover the edges of the confined seat. In this manner, the child is protected from the dirt and germs of previous children that might have used the seat, protected from the dirt and germs of adults who may have previously handled the seat, and/or protected from the harsh cleaning solutions often used to clean the seat.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to devices for covering surfaces with a barrier to prevent transmission of dirt, germs, and diseases to children. More particularly, the invention relates to a flexible and expandable barrier that is first put on the child, and then, when the child is in a confined seat, such as a shopping cart seat, the barrier is stretched out to cover the edges of the confined seat to protect the child from said dirt, germs, and diseases.

BACKGROUND

Small children that dine in restaurants, ride in grocery store shopping carts, visit amusement parks, or ride in cars, are typically placed in a confined seat, such as a high chair, booster seat, shopping cart seat, stroller, or car seat. Because these seats are often made available to the public by an entity such as a store, restaurant or amusement park, they are available to be used by and exposed to numerous children and adults. Although these seats are routinely cleaned, there is no way to guarantee that the seat is cleaned and/or sterilized immediately before each child uses it. Children have a tendency to touch and feel any new environment in which they are placed. Children also have a tendency to taste their environment by directly licking or sucking and/or touching then putting their hands in their mouths. As such, dirt, germs, and diseases easily may be passed from previous users of these shared children seats to each subsequent child using the seat.

For decades, people have used various cleaning agents and barriers to protect children from the dirt and germs that accumulate on shared confined seating for children. Parents have available an array of wipes and complex barriers that may be used to prevent the transmission of germs from the seat to the child. Although wipes are successful at cleaning various portions of the surface of a confined seat, these seats have a lot of surface area and cleaning them can be a very tedious task. For example, cleaning in between all of the bars of a shopping cart seat would be quite laborious, and especially difficult while trying to hold a small child. Regarding currently available barriers, most of these barriers are bulky and are brought by the parent to the store or restaurant. These barriers are difficult to wrangle into the seat under the best of circumstances. But, once again, when a parent is holding a child, covering the confined seat with a seat barrier is almost impossible.

Currently available barriers have been designed to fit to a specific type of seat. For example, those barriers that are intended to be used in a shopping cart seat cannot be easily adapted to also be used in a restaurant high chair or booster seat, a rented stroller, or a car seat that has been used by other child occupants. With a defined shape or particular mode of attachment, such as straps or snaps, the current barriers fail in their adaptability to all situations where it may be necessary to protect the child from a surface that has likely been contaminated. Instead of adapting to the type of seat in which the child is placed, the currently used barriers are restricted to whatever particular seat they were designed to cover. Furthermore, various forms of confined seat barriers in the prior art have focused on making the devices secure and comfortable for the child. Many barriers strap onto the seat; some attach by way of snaps or ties that encompass parts of the seat; while still others have flaps to secure them in place and drape like a slipcover over the seat. However, all continue to fail at providing adequate sanitary protection and, moreover, adequate ease for a parent to secure the barrier on the seat.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,606, issued Oct. 19, 1999 to Bergh is an example of an attempt to provide protection, comfort, and security to a child who is riding in a shopping cart seat. However, the barrier is padded, thereby limiting its use to only larger seats that are able to fit the bulky cover. Furthermore, the design is still specific to a shopping cart and makes it difficult for the barrier to be used on the variety of seats that continue to expose the child to contagions, making the barrier necessary. Additionally, the barrier is made of a reusable, washable material; it cannot be easily disposed of when its use is done. For sanitary purposes, it is preferable to use a disposable barrier rather than a washable one, as this guarantees no contagions are transmitted to the child upon a subsequent use. These factors present in the currently available devices make it illogical for a parent to carry multiple barriers. In the event that one is soiled and the use of a barrier is necessary before the soiled one can be washed, it is convenient and necessary that a parent is able to carry multiple barriers. This may be especially important when the barrier is used to cover a restaurant high chair or booster seat. A child's messy eating habits may make the barrier too dirty for reuse without washing. The Bergh barrier further fails in that it must be attached to the seat before the child is placed in it. Especially with its bulky size, it is difficult for a parent to try to balance a child in one arm while adjusting and securing the confined seat barrier with the other.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 3,578,380 issued May 11, 1971 to Jacobus is a confined seat barrier for a shopping cart. The barrier attaches to the shopping cart seat by means of elastic and/or ties. By attaching the Jacobus barrier to the shopping cart, the handle of the shopping cart is covered, as are the sides that are within the child's reach while he or she is seated. Holes in the barrier allow the child's legs to fit properly through the leg holes in the front of the shopping cart seat. However, this barrier once again demonstrates how the currently available seat barriers fail to provide the parent with an easy means of placing the barrier on the seat while simultaneously holding a child in his or her arms. Furthermore, as the holes are specifically created to work for a shopping cart seat, the barrier is not adaptable to the various types of situations when such a barrier is necessary to prevent contamination.

There are known devices in the prior art that have attempted to solve some of the problems still present in the above-mentioned barriers. However, these devices are not made of disposable materials and lack any sort of antimicrobial treatment, thereby failing to provide the best protection for the child from contamination. Rather than being made of disposable materials, these devices are of a non-disposable, washable material. This means that they cannot provide the same protection against contagions as would a new disposable barrier. Finally, none of the prior barrier devices are disclosed as being placed first on the child and not on the confined seat.

Thus, what is needed is a confined seat barrier that effectively protects against contagions and that a parent can set up in a variety of different seats. What is also needed is a barrier that is first placed on the child to enable a single caregiver the ability to get the child in a properly protected seat.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To minimize the limitations in the prior art, and to minimize other limitations that will become apparent upon reading and understanding the present specification, the present invention is a child seat barrier that is first placed on the child, and then, after the child is placed in the child seat, the barrier is stretched or mushroomed out away from the child and over the edges of the child seat to form a germ proof barrier. Preferably the barrier is disposable.

One embodiment of the present invention is a universal confined seat barrier comprising: a flexible barrier; wherein the flexible barrier is comprised of at least three openings: a main opening; and two leg openings; and wherein the main opening is defined by a flexible and stretchable band. The flexible barrier is preferably adapted to fit onto a child and is donned by the child. The flexible and stretchable band of the main opening of the flexible barrier preferably has a relaxed circumference that allows the main opening to fit around a torso of the child when the flexible barrier is donned by the child. Preferably, the two leg openings of the flexible barrier have circumferences that fit around two legs of the child when the flexible barrier is donned by the child. The flexible and stretchable band of the main opening of the flexible barrier preferably has an extended circumference that allows the main opening to fit around the confined seat in which child is placed when the flexible bather is donned by the child. The flexible and stretchable band of the main opening is preferably stretched out from the torso of the child and around a plurality of edges of the confined seat in which the child is placed after the flexible barrier is donned by the child; and the flexible barrier forms a protective barrier between the child and the confined seat in which the child is placed. The flexible barrier is adapted to fit a plurality of types of confined seats, including at least a shopping cart seat, a booster seat, a car seat, a stroller, and a high chair seat. The flexible barrier preferably provides antimicrobial protection for the child. Preferably, the flexible barrier is disposable. Preferably, the two leg openings are defined by two flexible and stretchable bands; and the two flexible and stretchable bands of the two leg openings are adapted to fit around two legs of the child.

Another embodiment of the invention is a method of putting a barrier between a child and a confined seat comprising the steps: providing a flexible barrier; wherein the flexible bather is comprised of at least three openings: a main opening; and two leg openings; wherein the main opening is defined by a flexible and stretchable band; wherein the flexible barrier is adapted to fit onto a child; donning by the child the flexible barrier; wherein the flexible and stretchable band of the main opening of the flexible barrier has a relaxed circumference that allows the main opening to fit around a torso of the child when the flexible barrier is donned by the child; wherein the two leg openings of the flexible barrier have circumferences that fit around two legs of the child when the flexible barrier is donned by the child; placing the child wearing the flexible barrier into the confined seat; and stretching the flexible and stretchable band of the main opening of the flexible barrier out from the torso of the child and around a plurality of edges of the confined seat in which the child is placed after the flexible barrier is donned by the child. Preferably, the flexible barrier forms a protective barrier between the child and the confined seat in which the child is placed. The flexible barrier is preferably adapted to fit a plurality of types of confined seats, including at least a shopping cart seat, a booster seat, a stroller seat, a car seat, and a high chair seat. The method preferably also includes the steps of: removing the child from the confined seat and the flexible barrier; and removing the flexible barrier from the confined seat and disposing of the flexible barrier. Preferably, the flexible barrier provides antimicrobial protection for the child. Typically, the two leg openings are defined by two flexible and stretchable bands; and the two flexible and stretchable bands of the two leg openings are adapted to fit around two legs of the child.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the limitations of the prior art.

Another object of this invention is to provide a child seat barrier that allows a caregiver to put the barrier on the child first, place the child in the seat, and then stretch or pull the barrier so that it mushrooms outward from the child to cover all of the edges of the seat. This allows a parent that does not have a free hand to easily put a protective barrier between the child and the publicly shared confined child seat.

Importantly, the barrier of the present invention is preferably first placed on the child, not the seat into which the child will be placed. Additionally, the present invention is preferably an amorphous, organic, or universal type of shape. Prior barrier solutions are made to specifically fit on a particular type of seat. These prior solutions leave the caregiver with the challenge of trying to fit the barrier or cover on the seat while at the same time holding or otherwise corralling the child.

For a child that is too young to stand, the caregiver may hold the child in one arm and at the same time place the leg holes of the barrier around the feet of the child. Once the child's feet are in the leg holes, the barrier of the present invention is pulled up and around the torso of the child. The caregiver then places the child in the confined seat. The elastic or stretchable outer rim of the barrier may then be easily pulled away from the child to cover the edges of the specific seat in which the child was placed.

For a toddler that is able to stand, the caregiver simply has the toddler step into the leg holes of the barrier. The barrier is then pulled up around the torso of the child. The child is then lifted into a confined seat. Once the child is seated, the elastic or stretchable outer rim of the barrier may then be easily pulled away from the child to cover the edges of the specific confined seat in which the child was placed.

Unlike other barrier solutions, the present invention is preferably lightweight and disposable, which allows it to be packaged similar to baby wipes and to be sold on a grocer's shelf. Also unlike current solutions, the present invention preferably has an antimicrobial treatment, which allows the barrier to be a germ defense barrier.

Additional embodiments of the invention will be understood from the detailed description of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a front perspective view of one embodiment of the barrier.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a front view of one embodiment of the barrier placed on a child.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of one embodiment of the invention and shows the barrier in use between a child and a shopping cart seat.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following detailed description of various embodiments of the invention, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of one or more embodiments of the invention. However, one or more embodiments of the invention may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, and/or components have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of embodiments of the invention.

While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodiments of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which shows and describes illustrative embodiments of the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of modifications in various obvious aspects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the figures, and the detailed descriptions thereof, are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. Also, the reference or non-reference to a particular embodiment of the invention shall not be interpreted to limit the scope of the invention.

The term “confined seat” refers to any seat that a child or infant might be placed in or sit in, including, but not limited to: a car seat, a high chair, a booster seat, a stroller, and/or a shopping cart seat. Preferably, the confined seat has one or more edges or sides that restrict the child's ability to easily exit the confined seat.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a front perspective view of one embodiment of the barrier. FIG. 1 shows how the barrier 1 is preferably an organic or amorphous surface that is somewhat spherical in shape and is made from flexible material that has three openings: a main opening 2; and two leg holes (or leg hole openings) 3 and 4. Preferably, the holes 2, 3, and 4 are defined by stretchable and flexible bands 5, 6, and 7. The stretchable and flexible bands 5, 6, and 7 are preferably rubber or an elastic plastic, but they can be made from any stretchable material. The leg hole openings 3 and 4 are sized to fit comfortably around a child's legs (as shown in FIG. 2), but large enough so as to allow the child to be lifted out from the barrier 1 and the confined seat in which a child is placed. The barrier 1 is preferably a flexible synthetic flashspun high-density polyethylene fiber. However, any thin, lightweight (and preferably disposable and/or recyclable) material may be used. Preferably the flexible barrier 1 substantially prevents contagions on the surface of the confined seat in which a child is placed, from being picked up by the child (as shown in FIG. 3) in the seat. The material of the barrier 1 is preferably flexible and of an amorphous or organic shape so that it easily extends around and over the edge or side portions of the seat that are within the reach of the seated child (as shown in FIG. 3). The material may be stretchable (or elastic), or it may be non-elastic, such as with the typical flexible synthetic flashspun high-density polyethylene fiber.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a front view of one embodiment of the barrier placed on a child. As shown in FIG. 2, the barrier 1 is placed on a child 9 so that the main opening 2 fits up around the waist or abdomen of the child 9. The legs of the child 9 go through the leg hole openings 3 and 4 so that the legs are free to independently move into and out of a leg opening of the seat (as shown in FIG. 3). The child 9 is placed in the barrier 1 in a similar way to putting pants or shorts. The legs of the child 9 are put into the barrier 1 by way of the main opening 2, and then extended out through the leg hole openings 3 and 4. The barrier 1 is then pulled up to fit around the abdomen of the child 9. It is preferred that the flexible barrier 1 is put on the child before the child is put in the confined seat. For a child 9 that is too young to stand, the caregiver may hold the child in one arm and at the same time places the leg holes 3 and 4 of the barrier 1 around the feet of the child 9. Once the child's feet are in the leg holes 3 and 4, the barrier 1 of the present invention is pulled up and around the torso of the child. The caregiver then places the child 9 in the confined seat (as shown in FIG. 3). The elastic or stretchable outer rim or band 2 of the barrier 1 may then be easily pulled away from the child 9 to cover the edges of the specific seat in which the child was placed (as shown in FIG. 3). For a child 9 or toddler that is able to stand, the caregiver simply has the child 9 step into the leg holes 3 and 4 of the barrier 1. The bather 1 is then pulled up around the torso of the child 9. The child 9 is then lifted into a confined seat (as shown in FIG. 3). Once the child 9 is seated, the stretchable and flexible band 5 of the barrier may then be easily pulled away from the child to cover the edges of the specific confined seat in which the child 9 was placed (as shown in FIG. 3).

FIG. 3 is an illustration of one embodiment of the invention and shows the barrier in use between a seated child and the confined seat of a shopping cart. FIG. 3 shows the confined seat 14 of a shopping cart with the barrier 1 in place after it has been stretched out over the edges 13 of the confined seat 14. Once the child 9 has been placed in the confined seat 14, the main opening flexible and stretchable band 5 is stretched or mushroomed outward toward the edges 13 of the confined seat 14, and then passed over the edges 13 of the confined seat 14 so that a partition or barrier is formed between the child 9 and seat 14. In this manner, the child 9 is protected from the dirt and germs of previous children that might have been left behind during prior use of the confined seat 14. The child 9 is also protected from the germs of adults who have handled the confined seat 14 and/or protected from the harsh cleaning solutions used to clean the confined seat 14. The main opening flexible and stretchable band 5 preferably holds the barrier 1 open and in place over edges 13 after the barrier 1 is stretched out to cover the confined seat 14. The leg hole openings 3 and 4 in FIG. 3 are shown with bands 7 and 8, as preferred, but leg hole bands 7 and 8 are not necessary. The leg hole bands 7 and 8, if included, preferably allow the child's feet and legs to be extricated easily so that the barrier 1 is preferably left behind on the seat 14 as the child 9 is removed. The barrier 1 can then be quickly and easily removed and recycled or thrown away.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show how: (1) the main opening 2 of barrier 1 is wide enough to easily stretch or mushroom over the far edges of a confined seat 14; (2) the flexible and stretchable band 5 of barrier 1 has an extended circumference that is great enough to easily stretch or mushroom over the far edges of a confined seat 14; and (3) the flexible and stretchable band 5 of barrier 1 has a resting circumference that enables the barrier to be donned by a child 9 before the barrier 1 and child 9 are placed in a confined seat 14.

In other embodiments of the invention, the barrier may come with holes or slits (not shown) that allow the safety straps of the confined seat to pass through the barrier and secure the child to the safety seat. This would allow the caregiver to strap or buckle the child into the seat, using the straps or buckles that are already present on the confined seat.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodiments of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the above detailed description, which shows and describes illustrative embodiments of the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of modifications in various obvious aspects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the detailed description is to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. Also, although not explicitly recited, one or more embodiments of the invention may be practiced in combination or conjunction with one another. Furthermore, the reference or non-reference to a particular embodiment of the invention shall not be interpreted to limit the scope the invention. It is intended that the scope of the invention not be limited by this detailed description, but by the claims and the equivalents to the claims that are appended hereto. 

1. A universal confined seat barrier comprising: a flexible barrier; wherein said flexible barrier is comprised of at least three openings: a main opening; and two leg openings; wherein said main opening is defined by a flexible and stretchable band.
 2. The universal confined seat barrier of claim 1, wherein said flexible barrier is adapted to fit onto a child and is donned by said child.
 3. The universal confined seat barrier of claim 2, wherein said flexible and stretchable band of said main opening of said flexible barrier has a relaxed circumference that allows said main opening to fit around a torso of said child when said flexible barrier is donned by said child.
 4. The universal confined seat barrier of claim 3, wherein said two leg openings of said flexible barrier have circumferences that fit around two legs of said child when said flexible barrier is donned by said child.
 5. The universal confined seat barrier of claim 4, wherein said flexible and stretchable band of said main opening of said flexible barrier has an extended circumference that allows said main opening to fit around said confined seat in which child is placed when said flexible barrier is donned by said child.
 6. The universal confined seat barrier of claim 5, wherein said flexible and stretchable band of said main opening is stretched out from said torso of said child and around a plurality of edges of said confined seat in which said child is placed after said flexible barrier is donned by said child; and wherein said flexible barrier forms a protective barrier between said child and said confined seat in which said child is placed.
 7. The universal confined seat barrier of claim 6, wherein said flexible barrier is adapted to fit a plurality of types of confined seats, including at least a shopping cart seat and a high chair seat.
 8. The universal confined seat barrier of claim 7, wherein said flexible barrier provides antimicrobial protection.
 9. The universal confined seat barrier of claim 8, wherein said flexible barrier is disposable.
 10. The universal confined seat barrier of claim 9, wherein said two leg openings are defined by two flexible and stretchable bands; and wherein said two flexible and stretchable bands of said two leg openings are adapted to fit around two legs of said child.
 11. A universal confined seat barrier comprising: a flexible barrier; wherein said flexible barrier is comprised of at least three openings: a main opening; and two leg openings; wherein said main opening is defined by a flexible and stretchable band; wherein said flexible barrier is adapted to fit onto a child and is donned by said child; wherein said flexible and stretchable band of said main opening of said flexible barrier has a relaxed circumference that allows said main opening to fit around a torso of said child when said flexible barrier is donned by said child; wherein said two leg openings of said flexible barrier have circumferences that fit around two legs of said child when said flexible barrier is donned by said child; wherein said flexible and stretchable band of said main opening of said flexible barrier has an extended circumference that allows said main opening to fit around said confined seat in which child is placed when said flexible barrier is donned by said child; wherein said flexible and stretchable band of said main opening is stretched out from said torso of said child and around a plurality of edges of said confined seat in which said child is placed after said flexible barrier is donned by said child; wherein said flexible barrier forms a protective barrier between said child and said confined seat in which said child is placed; wherein said flexible barrier is adapted to fit a plurality of types of confined seats, including at least a shopping cart seat, a high chair seat, a booster seat, a car seat, and a stroller seat; wherein said flexible barrier provides antimicrobial protection; and wherein said flexible barrier is disposable; wherein said two leg openings are defined by two flexible and stretchable bands; and wherein said two flexible and stretchable bands of said two leg openings are adapted to fit around two legs of said child.
 12. A method of putting a barrier between a child and a confined seat comprising the steps: providing a flexible barrier; wherein said flexible barrier is comprised of at least three openings: a main opening; and two leg openings; wherein said main opening is defined by a flexible and stretchable band; wherein said flexible barrier is adapted to fit onto a child; donning by said child said flexible barrier; wherein said flexible and stretchable band of said main opening of said flexible barrier has a relaxed circumference that allows said main opening to fit around a torso of said child when said flexible barrier is donned by said child; wherein said two leg openings of said flexible barrier have circumferences that fit around two legs of said child when said flexible barrier is donned by said child; placing said child wearing said flexible barrier into said confined seat; and stretching said flexible and stretchable band of said main opening of said flexible barrier out from said torso of said child and around a plurality of edges of said confined seat in which said child is placed after said flexible barrier is donned by said child.
 13. The method of putting a barrier between a child and a confined seat of claim 12, wherein said flexible barrier forms a protective barrier between said child and said confined seat in which said child is placed.
 14. The method of putting a barrier between a child and a confined seat of claim 13, wherein said flexible barrier is adapted to fit a plurality of types of confined seats, including at least a shopping cart seat and a high chair seat.
 15. The method of putting a barrier between a child and a confined seat of claim 14, further comprising the steps of: removing said child from said confined seat and said flexible barrier.
 16. The method of putting a barrier between a child and a confined seat of claim 15, further comprising the steps of: removing said flexible barrier from said confined seat and disposing of said flexible barrier.
 17. The method of putting a barrier between a child and a confined seat of claim 16, wherein said flexible barrier provides antimicrobial protection.
 18. The method of putting a barrier between a child and a confined seat of claim 17, wherein said two leg openings are defined by two flexible and stretchable bands; and wherein said two flexible and stretchable bands of said two leg openings are adapted to fit around two legs of said child. 